KOTA SAMARAHAN: Hospitals in the state still need more skilled nurses trained in specialised areas to assist with better healthcare for patients.
Assistant Minister of Public Health Datuk Dr Jerip Susil said he hoped the current setback is temporary and can be overcome with the further training of nurses with diplomas or degrees to postgraduate level in specialised medical fields.
He said the nurses can be upskilled such as for the intensive care unit (ICU) or orthopaedic ward, where highly trained nurses are required.
“The government is also making a concerted effort where the Public Service Commission is helping the Health Department to recruit the right type of nurse to fill the specific jobs and this would make it easier for hospitals to train these nurses with the skills for specific medical care areas,” he told a press conference after officiating at the sixth International Nursing Student Forum (INSF) and sixth Unimas Nursing Student Conference (UNSC) at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) yesterday.
He said both the government and private sector are training nurses and arming them with the right qualifications and skills necessary for excellence in healthcare.
Dr Jerip said he hoped there would not be many nurses leaving for jobs abroad such as in the Middle East, where Sarawakian nurses are said to be sought after.
In his speech, Dr Jerip said nurses in the 21st century face many challenges such as increasingly sophisticated technology, emergence of new diseases such as H1N1 and Ebola and re-emergence of old diseases like tuberculosis, as well as the escalating cost of healthcare.
“Therefore constant training and re-training to upgrade knowledge and skills is a must,” he stressed.
The theme for this year’s forum and conference is ‘Nurses a force for change: cost effective and care effective’.
A total of 800 participants are attending the two-day forum and conference including participants from Thailand, Indonesia, China, Singapore and the Maldives.